Lloyd Fricker: Celebrating the Symbiosis between Art and Science

For many outside of academia, science can often seem like a cold, impersonal field dedicated to observing the world and recording facts. While it’s true that scientists prize rigor, analytical thinking, and high-quality data, a key component of research is storytelling, whereby a researcher selects notable components from an extensive amount of information to present to colleagues and the public. Lloyd Fricker, professor of molecular pharmacology and of neuroscience, practices this trait outside of the laboratory as well, as a sculptor.

Lloyd Fricker, Ph.D. in his home studio

In creating his mobile-like sculptures, Dr. Fricker begins with objects he finds in his daily life. “Sometimes I use sticks and rocks I find while hiking,” he said. “It can even be litter or rubbish. One key step is deciding which to keep and bring back to my basement studio and which to leave behind.”

Dr. Fricker in his lab at EinsteinOnce he has collected material, he then determines which combinations of the found objects work well together. “Often, there's considerable trial and error of how best to arrange things. I keep at this experimentation until one arrangement seems to work best.”

He added, “It’s the same with science—you start with a discovery, or multiple discoveries. The hardest part is deciding which new findings are worth pursuing, and which should be left behind.”

Objets d’ Art

The works that Dr. Fricker creates are beautiful, three-dimensional structures, often with waving, rounded edges that have an almost otherworldly appearance. Inspiration from sculptors including Alexander Calder, Joan Miró, and Henry Moore is apparent.

“I don't usually have a theme in mind when I begin. I let the objects guide the final composition,” he explained. “Ultimately, a good piece of art can mean many things to any particular person,” he said.

Although he doesn’t typically set out to represent a specific concept or idea with his work, he does occasionally include scientific imagery, like the sculpture he made for his wife that is a wire model of a protein that she studies in her laboratory.

The Art of Science

Whether he’s creating art or conducting research, Dr. Fricker often follows a similar mindset. “Some scientists seek to prove their hypothesis—much like a painter has a vision and creates it,” he said. “While I occasionally follow this approach, more often, for me, science is about discovery of the unknown and figuring out how something works with an open mind.”

In his lab, Dr. Fricker studies bioactive peptides, a class of molecules that includes insulin, and the enzymes that cells use to generate these molecules.

Dr. Fricker's collage portrait of Albert Einstein, created using photos he took on campus; he presented the portrait to former Einstein dean Dominick P. Purpura, M.D., upon his retirement in 2006.
Dr. Fricker’s collage portrait of Albert Einstein, created using photos he took on campus; he presented the portrait to former Einstein dean Dominick P. Purpura, M.D., upon his retirement in 2006.“My lab members and I have discovered a dozen enzymes known as peptidases. We’ve also discovered numerous new peptides that signal between cells. Deciding which of these peptides and peptidases to focus on in my lab is akin to finding interesting objects in the woods while hiking and deciding which are worth bringing back to make into sculptures.”

A Proven Approach

Dr. Fricker first employed his preferred research methodology as a graduate student. His advisor asked him to find the enzyme responsible for the final step in producing enkephalin—a peptide critical to the body’s pain-response system. There were no existing methods for detecting this activity, but by looking through the literature he was able to find and adapt a process that allowed him to monitor the enzyme’s activity using a fluorescently-tagged molecule.

Finding and repurposing previously existing techniques is a common practice in research. And, also in art.

“There are clear parallels between pursuing one’s scientific curiosity and creating works of art,” he observed. “I also see a similar bridge in my work as an educator. When we tell others about our work, we scientists need to be more artistic about it.”

He finds that telling stories and offering analogies is more effective than sharing troves of information, especially in helping students to understand scientific concepts. “Storytelling can help us to capture the interest of our audience, whether students or the public. It’s a matter of sifting through the vast amount of information, selecting relevant and interesting components, and linking them with a narrative.”

He added, “The process is not much different from how I create my sculptures from assorted objects and assessing which ones fit together to form a congruous work.”

He concluded, “Scientists, educators, and artists all need to sort through many details and determine what combinations fit together in new ways. It’s especially important to find value in things that other people have overlooked.”